These sides will do battle again following a thrilling match in Croke Park three weeks ago. Meath were appearing in their first Intermediate Final and rose to the occasion admirably, whilst Cork too put the demons of their 2016 Final defeat to rest with an impressive performance. It was a late equaliser from Meath stalwart Jane Dolan that meant the sides would not be separated on the day and would have to lock horns once again.

Having claimed their maiden Premier Junior title in 2012, the Royals are now looking to push on again and a win would see them step up to the Senior Championship in 2018. They cut their teeth in Division 1 of the National League this year and will feel as though they are now ready to progress to the elite level of the game. Having dominated their group with an unbeaten record, John Davis’ crew then met old rivals Kildare who they edged out by just two points in a hard-fought Semi-Final.

This is the third meeting of these sides so far in this year’s Championship and Cork will be hoping to make it third-time lucky having lost to the Royals by just a single point in the group stage before the sides drew in the Final on September 10th. The Rebels bounced-back from their group stage defeat to progress to the Semi-Final where they dispatched of a strong Derry-side with an impressive ten-point win.

The original encounter ebbed and flowed with Cork dominating the scoreboard for long periods, yet it was Meath who finished the stronger as they reeled Cork in. Both of these sides are now intimately aware of each other’s respective strengths which will make for a fascinating encounter as they square up to one another once more.